Will MAHC Kill Competitive Swimming?

Concern has arisen over a provision in one section of the Model Aquatic Health Code that’s now up for public comment. The concern is over a MAHC stipulation requiring a minimum depth under starting blocks of 6 feet and 7 inches for a distance of 20 feet.

The provision appears in the Facility Design & Construction
Module and some say that guidance could have a dangerous impact on
competitive swimming programs.

“Changing the industry standard for starting block water
depth to 6 feet 7 inches needs to be based on solid data that does
not exist,” said Scot Hunsaker. “This proposed change
is based upon speculation that may end with significant unintended
negative consequences impacting the health benefits of swimming.”

Chief operating officer of St. Louis-based Counsilman-Hunsaker, he raised concerns in a blog post recently, noting that several governing bodies — including FINA, the National Collegiate Athletic Association and USA Swimming — have different requirements.

Others suggest a more gradual approach to changing depth requirements. “… It should be a point of concern for the competitive swimming community. I would suggest that if they keep the rule it should be for new construction. They should grandfather in the old but require additional training and
supervision over practice times. In the old days we landed to flat on the water surface that we did not go more than a foot beneath the surface. The new ways regularly take swimmers down to four feet of depth. I think this issue is important and could be handled with a combination of construction standards and training policy,” said John Whitmore a long-time aquatics professional with the city of Denton, Texas, via the Aquatics International LinkedIn page.

Most notably, Hunsaker stated that all deep water would limit the
use of the pool, essentially excluding therapy, recreational use,
and programming for small children. He indicated that “to
renovate a six lane 25 yard pool from a maximum water depth of 4
feet to 6 feet 7 inches for a distance of 20 feet in front of the
pool edge is estimated to be in the $200,000 range.”

The module is open for public comment through Oct. 14, 2012. It was
developed by a technical committee that includes a range of
industry professionals. The committee is led by Carl Nylander, also
with Counsilman-Hunsaker.

“We’re interested in the public comments and any
[supporting] data,” said Doug Sackett, assistant director of
the New York State Health Department and director of the Centers for Disease
Control-initiated MAHC project. “We’ll be
responding to the [comments] and determining if any changes should
be made.”